A Last Hurrah!

The last two days of our July Ocean City vacation were rainy, so we came home with rides tickets that we were unable to use.  Eliana was devastated that we did not get to end our trip with rides, but the remaining tickets were a promise that we would have to return to OC at some point to use them.  We figured that the weekend after the first week of kindergarten might be our last chance for a return trip.  We kept an eye on the forecast, and decided to book a night at the absolute cheapest hotel within walking distance to the boardwalk.  Pete kept his promise to wake up early on Saturday morning, and we embarked on a weekend road trip.  The weather was absolutely perfect so our first stop was to the boardwalk for some fries, and then to the beach!

Curly's Fries and lemonade

We are very impressed by the ingenious ketchup holder!

Eliana is ready to hit the ocean as soon as her feet touch sand

Leah prefers burying her feet and relaxing

The water is a lot warmer than it was in July!

Leah finally decides to frolic in the waves too

After we had our fill of the beach, we went to the hotel to change out of bathing suits and get ready for our evening on the boardwalk.  Our hotel was the "Coral Sands," and being an avid reader of trip advisor, expedia, and hotels.com, I was well prepared for "friendly staff, clean but dated rooms, no frills but worth the budget price tag!"  The place met expectations, and served us well for our first family hotel experience!

Coral Sands

After we returned to the boardwalk we were all hungry, and Eliana had her heart set on barbecue chicken pizza.  She had tried it for the first time at 3 Brothers Pizza on our July vacation, and had not forgotten about it!   We returned to 3 Brothers, which also boasts the world's largest pie, and advertises for their pizza eating contest.  Pete and Eliana both felt that they could eat an entire pie in less than an hour and win the contest.

After dinner we returned to the rides to make good use of our remaining tickets!  We kept the kids out late, feeding them sugary treats and watching them marvel at how dark it was outside.

Leah rode her own bumper car!  She spent a lot of time stuck in the corner.

Eliana got stuck a lot too, and almost ran over the ride attendant's foot.

Leah's favorite ride is the choo-choo train.

Daddy steals a kiss on the train

Possessed by Cotton Candy

Eliana reunites with an old friend (while Leah clings to Daddy)

After a heated argument about who was going to pilot the chopper, the girls enjoy a peaceful ride

Mommy is mildly terrified on the Ferris Wheel

Double Trouble

 

 

 

Everyone was tired when we finally made it back to the hotel room.  I was treated to a relaxing foot massage before we started our bedtime routine.  The girls slept peacefully in their bed, although we were paranoid about them falling out the sides and Pete kept rolling them towards the middle.

The next morning we woke up and went out for breakfast, before hitting the beach again, and finally heading home.  The trip was a great way to bring our summer to a close, and I was also grateful that the kids have grown up enough that they are now portable and adaptable!  I know many people who vacation with babies, but we never bothered.  Between the gear that babies require, the need to maintain a nap schedule, and the idea that they don't really care where they are anyway, it never seemed worth it to me.  However, a 3 year old and a 5 year old require no naps, have no additional gear, and are absolutely thrilled with the idea of being away from home!  I was always mindful of enjoying the moment when the girls were younger, but I also tucked away a fantasy of them at 3 and 5 years old.  In the exhausting, monotonous, and often mindless days of babies and toddlers, I was confident that 3 and 5 years old would bring a new dawn!  And, thankfully, this fantasy actually did turn into reality!  Obviously they still require a lot of work, but now I am able to also enjoy them as kids . . . as actual people, instead of as babies.  This weekend trip felt like a celebratory entry into a welcome and exciting new phase of parenting!

Eliana and her favorite doll (Her name is Princess, but she is NOT Princess Tiana and she is NOT from the Princess and the Frog)

Leah and her pal Spike

A Birthday and a New Beginning!

Throughout the summer, we were all in eager anticipation of the beginning of kindergarten, as well as Leah's 3rd birthday.  These landmark events were only one day apart, with Leah's birthday on September 2nd, and the first day of kindergarten on September 3rd.  The Friday before school started, Eliana was able to go to school to meet her teacher and see her classroom.  It really helped to calm her nerves and to get her more excited about school.  Her teacher had a treasure hunt waiting for her with a prize at the end, a treat bag with a poem inside, and a special envelope that said, "Do Not Open Until the Night Before Kindergarten!"  Afterwards, we tried out all of the playgrounds on the school's campus (there are four!).

Where the Kindergartners line up each morning for school

After some hesitation, Success!

The next day was Saturday, the beginning of "Leah's Birthday Weekend."  (And of course, Eliana's "Anniversary of Becoming a Big Sister Weekend.")  When the girls woke up in the morning I told them that we had a surprise for them.  They closed their eyes on the couch waiting for the surprise, and in walked Nana and Papa!!!   The girls were thrilled, especially since it had been many months since Nana and Papa were able to visit.  Papa had some health issues over the summer, which prevented them from traveling.  The girls were diligent in praying for their Papa every step of the way, and they were glad to see him looking healthy and crazy as ever.

We spent a fun and relaxing weekend together shopping, eating Pho, and doing a very late night U-Swirl trip at Nana's wild suggestion!  There were birthday festivities, including "happy cake" of course, and lots of presents for the girls to open.  In the midst of all of the fun Leah looked up at me with her sweet little face and said, "Mommy, I'm having the happiest birthday!" 

U-Swirl is even better late at night!

Look carefully, Leah lent Papa her new glamour earrings

Monday, Labor Day, was Leah's actual birthday, and following in her sister's footsteps she wanted to celebrate at Chuck E. Cheese and Nifty Fifty's.  Sade met us at Chuck E. Cheese with Saniyah and Mikhail, and everyone started playing happily.  However, once the big mouse came out in his costume, Leah freaked out completely.  She had a long pep talk from Daddy, but still insisted on being carried around in case she ran into the mouse.  Eliana on the other hand was impressed by her own bravery, and proved it by following the mouse around Chuck E. Cheese.  Leah eventually started having some fun, but always keeping one eye out for the mouse.  Afterwards we went to Nifty Fifty's for her birthday meal, and Auntie and Seniah joined us there too!  Leah is very excited to be three, and had a great weekend.  But later that night she sat on my lap and said, "Mommy, sometimes I wish I could crawl back into your belly."  She is still my little baby!

Pep Talk From Daddy (Worried Little Face)

Carry Me Everywhere Daddy!

Eliana following the Mouse

He is kind of creepy looking!

It's easier to watch out for the mouse when up high on a horse!

Saniyah is serious about her games!

Leah's learning some new gaming moves from Mikhail

After celebrating Leah's birthday, we came home and transitioned to "the night before kindergarten."  Gran had taken Eliana on a shopping trip and bought her some very fashionable clothes, and Eliana was really looking forward to picking out her first-day outfit. We took our time laying out her clothes, making her lunch, and packing her bag.  Before bed we opened Mrs. A's secret envelope, which contained a poem and "magic jitter glitter confetti" to sprinkle under Eli's pillow, and magically take away her night-before-kindergarten-jitters.  Eliana loved the magic, but still took an hour and a half to fall asleep!  The next morning she woke up excited! 

The morning of the first day of Kindergarten!

Leah's typical morning face

(By the way, Leah is inseparable from the little doll on her lap, and the doll's name is Spike (NOT Dora), and the doll is a girl (NOT a boy!)). 

Finally, it was time to leave for school.  Eliana picked out her own outfit, and would not let me talk her out of wearing a long-sleeved shirt, even though it was 90 degrees. (She did agree to let me roll up the sleeves.) She has her "chewelry" around her neck, which is jewelry that you can chew - our latest attempt to help Eliana stop chewing up her fingers.  Her bookbag is almost as big as she is.  When she got to school she was extremely hesitant as we approached the kindergarten playground where the kids line up.  She began to cling on to me and tears filled her eyes.  We were early enough that I gave her some more time to see if she would feel ready, but she kept clinging on tight.  Finally, I saw her friend Charlotte, from nursery school, approaching on a bus line.  "Charlotte!!!!"  Eliana agreed to walk into the kindergarten yard with Charlotte, and the two of them entered together smiling and holding hands.

Trying to be brave!

Eliana and Charlotte, her teacher is off to the left.

What I did not expect was how terribly sad I felt walking away from the kindergarten schoolyard without my Big Girl.  We spent our days together, side-by-side, inseparable since she was born!  From an intense high-needs baby, she had evolved into a responsible, articulate, compassionate big-girl.  In some ways, I had actually been looking forward to her starting kindergarten.  But now that I was actually leaving her, for the entire day, I wanted to go home and cry!  Although I had several friends tell me their experiences of crying after leaving their kids at kindergarten, for some reason I never expected to feel that way.  I held Leah's hand and we walked to our car as she chattered away, and I prayed for Eliana to have a wonderful kindergarten experience!!!

Summer Highlights

The girls are now both in school, and so the summer is officially over!  It was a lovely summer.  In some ways short, the way that summer always is;  in other ways endless, in that the days were full of "Mommy School Camp."  "Mommy School Camp" is what Eliana titled the long expanse of days where there was no school and no camp, other than what Mommy devised.  Each day was exhausting, but also precious.  And each evening left me just enough fumes of energy to get my adoption work done.  I loved so much time with the girls, especially in anticipation of Eliana starting kindergarten.  But, now that the girls are both at school, and the house is quiet, I am grateful. (Inhale, Exhale. Ahhh.)  Since this blog has been quiet since June, I'll provide some of the highlights of our summer!


We visited Abington Art Center's sculpture park for a girls' hike.  For some reason it was completely empty while we were there, and we did not see another person on the trail.  Leah was freaked out by the isolated woods, bugs, and spider webs.  She kept asking for her Daddy.  Eliana loved everything about the hiking trail and sculptures, and insisted on being the leader.  Things took a turn for the worse when we happened upon a wild boar in the woods.  Eliana made a friend, but it sealed the deal that Leah would not relax for the rest of the afternoon.

Peter started his vacation time in July, and we were off to Ocean City, New Jersey for our first summer vacation a a family of four!  We rented a little house from Pete's coworker, and had a wonderful week.  The kids loved that we could spend time at the beach every day!  We also spent a lot of time on the boardwalk eating fries, cotton candy, ice cream, and pizza.  We went on rides and played arcade games.  Everyone was thrilled when Aunt Jessie and Sara came for an overnight visit, and again when Tia, Lauren and Isabel joined us for a day!  It was a very successful and memorable family vacation.

The day after vacation we came home to a visit from the beloved Aunt Jenise.  It was a short visit, but we packed a lot in.  She brought the girls dolls with matching dresses, which they loved! We took a trip to Happy Tymes, where Eliana made her first attempt at rock climbing.  She did not master it at this visit, but was determined to go back the following week, when she made it to the top!  Leah won some fake teeth and became a scary vampire girl.  The next day we took a girls trip to the Please Touch Museum, while Pete was at work.  It was our first trip to the PTM, and we were impressed by how much there was to explore.  We stayed until the closing time parade when they marched us out, and still did not see everything!!! As always, the girls have much love for their Aunt Jenise, and Eliana has made it clear that she's ready for a road trip to Rochester!

As we approached September, Eliana wanted a back-to-school haircut.  Leah pointed out that she had never had a haircut, so we scheduled them both with Mr. Pasha (who cuts Mommy's hair). They were thrilled to go to such a fancy salon (especially Eliana).  Mr. Pasha assured us that he had Professional Curl Training at the DevaCurl Academy!  The girls looked fabulous!!

 

Over the course of the summer it was fascinating to watch the girls changing and growing right before my eyes.  Eliana became more mature, more self assured, and better able to articulate her feelings.  Leah grew like a weed, became more independent, and started a real transition from "baby" to "kid."  The summer is over, the girls are in school (more on that later), and a new chapter begins!